Leningrad Hero City Obelisk (russian: Обелиск «Городу-герою Ленинграду») is a monument in the shape of an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

located in

Vosstaniya Square Vosstaniya Square (russian: Пло́щадь Восста́ния, lit. ''Uprising Square'') is a major square in the Central Business District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The square lies at the crossing of Nevsky Prospekt, Ligovsky Prospekt, V ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, which was known as Leningrad from 1924 to 1991. It was installed on

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

of May 1985 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

's victory in the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

. The monument was designed by architects Vladimir Lukyanov and A. I. Alymov. The Hero-City Obelisk is pentahedral in shape; its cross section has the shape of a star. In its lower part, the Obelisk is encircled with a bronze wreath covering the joint of the two monoliths. The

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

is decorated with bronze

high relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s devoted to the heroic defence of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

while a gold star shines on its top. After the

Alexander Column The Alexander Column (russian: Алекса́ндровская коло́нна, ''Aleksandrovskaya kolonna'') also known as Alexandrian Column (russian: Александри́йская коло́нна, ''Aleksandriyskaya kolonna''), is the f ...

, it is the highest stone monument in

. When Soviet forces eventually lifted the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

in January 1944, over one million inhabitants of Leningrad had died from starvation, exposure and German shelling. 300,000 soldiers had perished in the defence and relief of Leningrad. Leningrad was awarded the title Hero City in 1945, being the first city to receive that distinction. Installing the obelisk required highly skilled builders and fitters. Grey

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

resembling the colour of soldier's overcoat was chosen to make the body of the monument. The rock was obtained from a quarry of the Vozrozhdenie (literally: ''Revival'') deposit near the town of

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...

. On 6 November 1983, a

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...

weighing 2200 tonnes was separated from the source rock with the help of a controlled explosion. The finishing touches and polishing of the granite were done on the site. In early April 1985, the Obelisk crowned with the "Gold Star" was installed onto its

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

Principal dimensions

The total height of the obelisk is 36 meters. It consists of a crowned top and a central trunk of height 22.5 meters, pommel and Star — 4.5 m. and base — 9 m. Its base has a diameter of 3.5 meters and a width of 9 meters. The overall mass of the monument is approximately 390 tonnes. The total mass of the monument with the base is 750 tonnes. The diameter bronze wreaths is 4.5 meters while that of the Gold Star at its top, which is made of stainless steel, is 1.8 meters.Лисовский В.Г. Санкт-Петербург.в 2т.Т.2,От классики к современности.-СПб.:Коло,2009.584с.,стр.482. File:Stella OBELISCUS (Leningrad).jpg, Pommel and «Gold Star» at the top height 4,5 meters

References

Sources

* Bulakh A.G.,Abakumova N.V.,Romanovsky J.V. -St Petersburg: A History in Stone, -2010, -SPb, -SPb University Press, p.-174, , p. 61-62. *Исаченко В.Г. Памятники Санкт-Петербурга. Справочник. -СПб:"Паритет".2004.-400c.,ил.,стр.-298.. *Кириков Б.М.,Кирикова Л.А.,Петрова О.В. Невский проспект.Дом за домом. 2-е изд.,испр.-М.: Центрполиграф,2006.стр.-371.. *Лисовский В.Г. Санкт-Петербург.в 2т.Т.2,От классики к современности.-СПб.:Коло,2009.584с.,стр.482.. *Лавров Л.П."1000адресов в Санкт-Петербурге.Краткий архитектурный путеводитель"-СПб.: "Эклектика",2008.-416c.,стр.92..

External links

ЦГ Архив К-Ф Документов С-Петербурга. АР 215703 Обелиск «Город-герой Ленинград»

ЦГ Архив К-Ф Документов С-Петербурга. АР 215704 Обелиск «Город-герой Ленинград»

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121119104103/http://artru.info/ar/42511/ ARTRU.INFO Архитектор В. С. Лукьянов * ttp://tr.rkrp-rpk.ru/get.php?2132 ''В. Г. Исаченко'', Площадь Восстания.
''В. С. Лукьянов'', Девятый Обелиск.

Создан Комитет защиты площади Восстания

100ТВ 07.05.2013. Что важней: "Исторический вид" или память о войне?
{{Foot zones of Saint Petersburg Obelisks in Russia Monuments and memorials in Saint Petersburg Monuments and memorials built in the Soviet Union Nevsky Prospekt Victory monuments Outdoor sculptures in Russia Sculptures in the Soviet Union Tourist attractions in Saint Petersburg fi:Sankarikaupungin obeliski